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| Born | 11 February 1991 [1] Gravesend, Kent, England [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country |  United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Modern Pentathlon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Istvan Nemeth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Katherine Elizabeth French MBE (born 11 February 1991) is a British modern pentathlete who won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
French was born on 11 February 1991 in Meopham, near Gravesend, Kent. [2] She was privately educated at the independent Cobham Hall School. She completed a degree in sports performance at the University of Bath, where she also trains at the Pentathlon GB High Performance Centre. [3]
French is married and lives in Chapmanslade, Wiltshire. [4]
In 2013 French finished in tenth place in the individual event at both the World Championships in held in Kaoshiung, Taiwan and at the European Championships held in Drzonków, Poland. At the European Championships she also won gold medals in the women's team event, competing alongside Mhairi Spence and Samantha Murray, [5] and in the women's relay event, with Murray and Katy Burke. [6] At the World Championships French, Murray and Spence also won the gold medal in the team event. [7]
At the 2014 World Modern Pentathlon Championships held in Warsaw, Poland, French won two silver medals. Competing with Freyja Prentice and Samantha Murray she was part of the women's team that finished second behind China and in the mixed relay event; French and Joe Evans finished second behind Justinas Kinderis and Laura Asadauskaitė of Lithuania. [8] [9]
She qualified for the modern pentathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics by finishing eighth at the 2015 European Championships held in Bath. [10] French was placed fifteenth after the first three events but missed only a single target during the combined run and shooting event to secure the top eight finish needed for Olympic qualification. [11] At the same event she won a gold medal in the team event, competing alongside Samantha Murray and Freyja Prentice, who finished tenth and thirteenth in the individual event. [11]
In 2016 she placed 5th at the Olympic games after a consistent performance throughout all events, including winning the riding event with a perfect clear round. 2017 saw her most successful season with a silver medal at World Cup 1 in Los Angeles and a gold medal at World Cup 2 in Cairo. Due to this success she achieved a world ranking high of number 2.
In 2018 French won the silver medal in the individual event at the European Championships held in Székesfehérvár, Hungary. The following year, she repeated her silver medal-winning performance in the individual event and also won gold in the team event at the European Championships held in Bath, England.
In 2021 she won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the first British competitor to win since Steph Cook took gold at the Sydney games in 2000. [12] She also broke the Olympic record for overall points in the event.
French was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to modern pentathlon. [13] [14]
Heather Fell is a former British modern pentathlete turned triathlete. She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, winning the silver medal in the women's modern pentathlon event.
Katy Livingston is a British modern pentathlete who has competed at the Olympic Games.
Katherine Fiona “Kate” Allenby MBE is a British modern pentathlete who competed in two Summer Olympics, taking the bronze medal at the 2000 Games and placing in 8th place in 2004. She has won medals at four World Championships, and after retiring from sport, she became a physical education teacher in Bath, England.
The Modern Pentathlon Association Great Britain is the national governing body for the sport of modern pentathlon in Great Britain, recognised by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne. Modern Pentathlon, the sport Baron Pierre de Coubertin called ‘the veritable consecration of the complete athlete’ comprises five events: fencing, swimming, riding, shooting and running. Today's competition involves fencing épée for a single hit against each of the other competitors; swimming 200 metres freestyle; riding an unknown horse round a show-jumping course, and then running four 800 metre laps each preceded by shooting at five targets with a laser pistol. First appearing in the Olympic Games of 1912 at the specific request of de Coubertin, founder of the Modern Olympic Games, the same five sports have comprised this greatest of all Olympic challenges and the sport completed one hundred years of unbroken Olympic participation in 2012. Despite technological changes the five events have remained essentially the same. In Stockholm in 1912, competitors brought their own horses, fenced outdoors without electric equipment, used military pistols and swam and ran outdoors. The Stockholm event took six days to complete while the super-athletes of today finish in a single day; in 1912 only men competed while today women share equal billing; the 1912 competitors were nearly all military men while today civilians generally dominate the sport. The recent changes in the sport which combine shooting and running in a single event and make use of laser pistols are some of the exciting new developments that put Modern Pentathlon at the forefront of 21st century sporting advances. Even after one hundred years of Olympic competition, Modern Pentathlon's ability to move with the times has made it the true test of the all-round Olympic super athlete.
Samantha Murray is an English modern pentathlete. She won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships. In 2014, she won individual gold and team silver medals at the 2014 World Championships. In 2015, Murray reached world number #1 in the Modern Pentathlon World Rankings after taking Gold at the USA World Cup followed by a 5th place at the Berlin World Championships. Murray finished in 8th Place at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil.
Annika Schleu is a German modern pentathlete. She won the gold medal of the relay event at the 2012 World Championships and 2017 World Championships. She has competed in three Olympic Games, finishing in 26th place in 2012 and in 4th place in 2016.
Mhairi Spence is a British modern pentathlete. She has won a series of medals at European and World Championships, but was not selected for the 2008 Summer Olympics by the British team due to the limited number of places available. After considering retiring in 2009, she returned to the sport and in 2012 she won gold medals in both the individual and the team events at the 2012 World Championships, and qualified to be chosen for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Sarolta Kovács is a Hungarian modern pentathlete. An individual and team World Champion, she competed in the modern pentathlon at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Leila Gyenesei is a Hungarian modern pentathlete and cross-country skier. She is a five-time medalist at the World Championships, and is currently ranked no. 19 in the world by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM). She is also the daughter of István Gyenesei, former Minister of Local Government and chairman of the Association for Somogy party.
Joseph Choong is a British modern pentathlete. He won the gold medal in the event at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the World title in 2022.
Gulnaz Radikovna Gubaydullina is a Russian modern pentathlete. She has qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2017 World Modern Pentathlon Championships, Gubaydullina won the gold medal in the individual competition, becoming the second Russian woman to do so.
James Cooke is a British modern pentathlete. Cooke is both the 2018 World and 2019 European champion in the individual event, and the 2019 European Champion in the Team event with Tom Toolis and Joe Choong.
Sian Lewis is a British former pentathlete who competed in the World Modern Pentathlon Championships between 1996 and 2003, winning three gold and two silver medals.
Myles Pillage is a British modern pentathlete.
This article lists the main modern pentathlon events and their results for 2015.
This article lists the main modern pentathlon events and their results for 2014.
This article lists the main modern pentathlon events and their results for 2013.
This article lists the main modern pentathlon events and their results for 2012.
Samantha Schultz is an American modern pentathlete. She won the silver medal in the women's individual event at the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru. Achterberg and Jessica Davis also won the gold medal in the women's relay event.
Joanna Muir is a British modern pentathlete, who was part of the British squad that won the team event at the 2019 European Modern Pentathlon Championships, and came second in the women's relay event at the 2016 World Modern Pentathlon Championships. She came second at the opening event of the 2021 Modern Pentathlon World Cup. Muir competed in the modern pentathlon event at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics.
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